July 21, 2024 – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost / Proper 11

Lectionary Readings

Semicontinuous

2 Samuel 7:1–14a
The Lord says: I will make a house for my servant David.

Psalm 89:20–37
God’s covenant with David is established forever.

Complementary

Jeremiah 23:1–6
God says: Like a shepherd, I will gather up the remnant of my flock.

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, leading, protecting, and feeding me.

Ephesians 2:11–22
Christ is our peace, breaking down the dividing wall between us.

Mark 6:30–34, 53–56
After a brief respite, great crowds surround Jesus and the disciples.

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

Christ calls to us:
“Come away to a deserted place
all by yourselves
and rest awhile.”
O God, you prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life
and I shall dwell in God’s house
my whole life long.

Prayer of the Day

Christ our peace,
you promise to make us one new humanity,
reconciling us to God
and building us into a dwelling place
for the Most High,
firm atop the foundation
of the apostles and prophets.
Like the prophets before us,
you have called us to be shepherds
who both guide and comfort.
Model for us how to be good shepherds,
not those who scatter the sheep
with errant advice and wayward words,
but those who lead them beside still waters,
in right paths,
for the sake of your Holy Name. Amen.

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Thanksgiving For Baptism

At the baptismal font:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

O Lord our God, we give you thanks
for the grace that is at work in us
through the gift of our baptism—
the sign of your threefold name,
the communion of your faithful people,
the promise of your glorious realm.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
poured out upon us in baptism,
let your grace and peace grow in us,
until we gather at your heavenly throne
to give you thanks and praise forever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession and Pardon

At the baptismal font:
It is only by the power of God
that we are able to stand against evil.

Trusting in God’s grace, let us confess our sin.

We love you, O Lord, with our prayers and our songs.
Forgive us when we do not love you with our actions.
You have called us to tend your sheep:
to care for your people around the world,
to share what we have, and to reflect your love.
Forgive us, O Lord, when our love for you is shallow,
when our love for our neighbors is empty,
and when our love for ourselves is hard to find.
Forgive us, O God, of the ways we fall short,
and by your forgiveness, free us to try again.

Lifting water from the font:
Now stand firm in your faith,
covered by the saving grace of God
and ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God.

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Holy, Holy, Holy One,
guide us by the Spirit of truth
to hear the Word of life you speak,
and to give all glory, honor, and praise
to your threefold name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings:
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Listen to the word of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:4

After the readings:
Keep these words in your heart.
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Thanks be to God.
Deuteronomy 6:6

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
To the Lord our God, Alpha and Omega,
be all glory and honor forever. Amen.
Revelation 21:6

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

Time after Pentecost
The life, death, resurrection,
and promised coming of Jesus Christ
has set the pattern for the church’s mission.
His human life involves the church
in the common life of all people.
His service to men and women
commits the church
to work for every form of human well-being.
His suffering makes the church sensitive
to all human suffering
so that it sees the face of Christ
in the faces of persons in every kind of need.
His crucifixion discloses to the church
God’s judgment on the inhumanity
that marks human relations,
and the awful consequences
of the church’s own complicity in injustice.
In the power of the risen Christ
and the hope of his coming,
the church sees the promise
of God’s renewal of human life in society
and of God’s victory over all wrong.
The church follows this pattern
in the form of its life
and in the method of its action.
So to live and serve
is to confess Christ as Lord.
Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33